Iowa Park fire still smoldering

Only crews, residents being allowed access

Ken Fibbe/Times Record News
The flames from a large wildfire near FM 367 Friday burned a nearby home to the ground and grew hot enough to melt the tires of a truck parked outside. Residents were left to sift through the ashes Saturday, hoping to recover what little they could from the debris.

Ken Fibbe

Ken Fibbe/Times Record News
Downed power lines along FM 367 kept electric company workers busy Saturday in the aftermath of a wildfire on Friday. Electricity had not been restored to the area Saturday afternoon as residents slowly were allowed back to survey the damage to their homes.

Ken Fibbe/Times Record News

Ken Fibbe/Times Record News
Allen Yates shovels dirt onto smoldering debris outside his destroyed home on FM 367 West. A large wildfire that burned nearly 20,000 acres of land claimed his home and at least 11 others.

Ken Fibbe/Times Record News

Scorched earth and the charred remains of what used to be people's homes was all that was left in several areas around Iowa Park on Saturday.

Residents were slowly allowed back about 9 a.m. to survey the damage of a wind-whipped wildfire — one of many that struck Wichita County on Friday. More than 100 families were evacuated from their homes along FM 367 without knowing if they would ever see them again.

At noon Saturday, Allen Yates and a few of his family members stood in what remained of his residence in the 4000 block of FM 367 West. Few words came to him as he worked to shovel dirt on several still-smoldering spots.

"I just don't know what to say. It just hasn't soaked in yet," Yates said. "How do you recover from this?"

Many others in the area were asking themselves the same question as they picked through the ash and rubble, searching for anything that might have been spared from the flames.

Early estimates from county authorities placed the damage within about a 10-mile stretch of the area at about $2 million, with about 20,000 acres burned. Twelve homes were lost in the fire, a blaze that also claimed undetermined numbers of livestock, vehicles and equipment.

One person was believed to have lost about $500,000 in property.

Four structures, four homes and four mobile homes added to the tally of destruction near Old Electra Road — totaling about $900,000 in damage. Near the Kamay area, eight structures were lost at a cost of about $135,000.

The sheriff's office warned these preliminary numbers were just that as the full scope of the damage remained unknown.

No major injuries were reported, with a few people suffering from minor smoke inhalation.

Emergency management personnel worked Saturday from a command post on FM 367 — one of several checkpoints in the area that remained closed to all but residents and workers.

Residents were required to show identification as they entered and were cautioned about the still hazardous conditions.

Several broken and still-smoldering wooden power line poles lined the road as electric workers scrambled to them. Electricity had not been restored to the area Saturday afternoon.

Livestock also roamed the roadways, unrestricted by burned-down fences.

The air stayed heavy with lingering trails of smoke and dust swept up by winds from a now-desolate wasteland.

"We're still dealing with some flare-ups and a lot of downed power lines, so we're limiting access to the roads for the foreseeable future," said Kevin Callahan, Wichita County sheriff chief deputy. "We've been told the winds are supposed to stay down, so we're hoping to have a good handle on things in the next 24 hours."

Callahan said authorities suspect the fire started due to sparking power lines continually thrashed Friday by wind gusts reaching up to 55 miles per hour.

It was another busy day for all involved with county personnel working round-the-clock 12-hour shifts.

Many others worked surveying and in relief efforts where other fires struck near FM 171, Electra and Kamay.

Wichita County Judge Woody Gossom estimated the total number of homes destroyed in the county between 40 and 70.

He advised anyone displaced because of the disaster to contact the American Red Cross, 1809 Fifth St., at 940-322-8686.